For years now I have had wood fern planted behind the pond. It has always been really pretty, but it has spread so much, it was making it harder for us to get to the submersible pump in the pond. We just dealt with this problem until two weeks ago.
I thought the fern looked really bad and decided it was the heat and maybe lack of water. But when I looked closer, I saw these black larvae all over the leaves. Can you see it, right in the middle of the picture.
We started finding these fuzzy black caterpillars everywhere By doing a little research on the Internet I think I have identified these as the caterpillar for a Leopard Moth. (I could be wrong, but the caterpillars did have the red bands between the bristles.)
I love to feed everything, but the caterpillars had just about eaten the ferns up, and since the ferns were causing a real problem with us getting to the pump, I decided to cut them all the way back to the ground.
Of course, they are not gone,they just received a major cut, but we are thinking we may dig them up this fall and do something else in this little raised bed. I have some ferns along the fence that I see are also being eaten, but I will leave them for the caterpillars to enjoy. The fern actually hid part of this tiny backyard and although I miss the airy foliage, I have enjoyed opening up the yard a bit. I don't know what options to consider in this bed. It does get some sun as you can see, but only for a few hours. Plus, I don't want to add something that will again create a problem for hubby who is the one that usually cleans the pump in the pond. I think it would be pretty if the ground ivy that grows around the pond took over in this bed-and, I have always wanted an old wash tub (you know the kind on a stand); that might look good nestled in the corner of the house. Then again, we might just let the fern grow back and try to contain it. For now, we will just leave it. It's way too hot to plant anything new, and way too hot to worry about! 
